Swedish fintech Klarna announced a partnership with Coinbase to raise short-term, USDC-denominated funding from institutional investors, aiming to diversify its treasury financing and reduce reliance on traditional sources. The plan uses stablecoins to provide USD-like capital through digital channels, and was announced on December 19, 2025. Klarna CFO Niclas Neglén called it an exciting first step into a new funding method, saying stablecoin connects them to a new class of institutional investors and could diversify funding sources. The arrangement is meant to complement existing sources such as consumer deposits, long-term debt, and short-dated commercial paper.
Coinbase was selected for its enterprise-grade crypto infrastructure and track record in supporting large businesses. Coinbase’s platform offers regulatory oversight and operational reliability required by traditional financial institutions entering digital assets. The infrastructure enables 24/7 movement of funds with near-instant settlement at lower costs than conventional payment rails. The move is intended to reduce Klarna’s dependency on traditional banking systems and bond markets while preserving access to dollar-denominated capital.
The initiative follows Klarna’s earlier moves, such as launching KlarnaUSD on Tempo and forming a research partnership with Privy to explore wallet solutions for its 114 million users. Tempo is a Layer-1 blockchain developed by Stripe and Paradigm, and KlarnaUSD is live on Tempo’s testnet with a mainnet launch planned for 2026. These efforts reflect a shift in Klarna’s leadership, with CEO Sebastian Siemiatkowski moving from skepticism about crypto to acknowledging maturity, speed, low cost, security, and scale.
Regulatory clarity backed by the GENIUS Act, passed in July 2025, requires stablecoin issuers to maintain 100% reserve backing and monthly disclosures, encouraging institutions to explore stablecoin initiatives. By December 2025, SoFi launched SoFiUSD as the first national bank to issue a stablecoin on a public blockchain, and Sony’s banking arm announced plans to explore a dollar-backed token. McKinsey estimated stablecoin transaction volume at about $27 trillion annually, with a market capitalization around $304 billion, led by Tether’s USDT and Circle’s USDC. These trends show growing demand for dollar-pegged digital assets and point to broader adoption beyond Klarna as traditional finance builds out stablecoin networks and related treasury tools.
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